Where Does The Business Model Slide Go In A Pitch Deck?

Where does the business model slide go in a pitch deck?

A business model is the essence of starting and growing any business. This also makes it a crucial part of any pitch deck when attracting investment for a company.

As such, your business model slide will be of particular interest to startup investors. So, where does the business model slide go in a successful pitch deck? Why is it so important? What makes a solid and fundable business model?

The Business Model & Your Pitch Deck

While there are other slides and data in your pitch deck which may be even more pivotal for startup investors, the business model is essentially the core of your business.

Business models do change and evolve over time. It can take a while for new startups to really nail the product-market fit, and hone their processes and systems.

Over time, especially in the long term, the vision, and the foundational problem will remain the same. Yet, how you bring it all together as a business will certainly evolve. Whether that is the products, delivery, raw materials, marketing, or other factors.

Still, you have to start somewhere and have a system for actually doing business, and creating value.

Everything else can be great, but if the business model doesn’t work. It just won’t work out.

What Does The Business Model Show Investors?

Your business model slide gives potential investors a snapshot of how you are bringing together your market, product, and investment to create a real business. One which will multiply their money.

Keep in mind that in fundraising, storytelling is everything. In this regard, for a winning pitch deck to help you here, take a look at the template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel (see it here) that I recently covered. Thiel was the first angel investor in Facebook with a $500K check that turned into more than $1 billion in cash.

Remember to unlock the pitch deck template that is being used by founders around the world to raise millions below.

 

The Business Cycle

Your business model slide describes the business cycle. How you go from product to putting money back in the bank.

For experienced business investors, this instantly provides insight into the flaws and advantages in your plan and model. Whether this is doomed to fail, or whether there is a valuable advantage that can be a market winner.

Value Add Potential

Well-connected investors can also use this slide to spot where they can add extra value as partners. Both for the business as a whole and for themselves in rapidly growing the company or its profitability.

Perhaps they can plug you right into a huge distribution network, slash your operational costs, or something else.

Evaluating Your Thinking & Experience

Your business model provides insight into how you think as an entrepreneur and operator. Your values, strategy, and so on.

While your model will almost certainly change over time, this slide shows your business acumen. Your ability to plan well. As well as demonstrating your in-depth understanding of your industry and business in general.

It will show if you are an expert that knows some things even better than they do. Or whether you are a novice that doesn’t really have the knowledge to map out a profitable business.

How Much You Have Proven

Your pitch deck and how you answer investor questions about your business model will differentiate between how much of this is still just a nice idea, versus how much you have actually proven out and really have working already.

This not only makes a difference in the speed and level of returns that they can expect, but how much risk is still involved. So, figure out where does the business model slide go in a pitch deck and add it for maximum impact.

Is Your Business Model Fundable?

There are plenty of business ideas and even models that can function. Though that doesn’t mean they are all fundable. So, if you are creating a pitch deck to help finance and capitalize on your venture, what’s the difference?

A fundable business model is…

Big Enough

To be fundable, a business must have the potential to create dramatically high returns for investors. Is there room to grow their money by 10x to 100x within their investment timeline, and an acceptable amount of time?

Scalable

It is true that you may have to begin by doing things that don’t scale. Yet, in order to build a fundable and large business that investors will be interested in participating in, it does need to scale.

Consider the processes, systems, infrastructure, and efficiency you have to scale and expand.

Profitability

It may be true that in some phases of the market and economy that startup investors may prioritize other factors over profitability. Like the speed of growth. However, the purpose of a business is always to generate profits.

So, you must at least have a path to profitability, if you are not profitable yet. These profits must match their return expectations, and represent acceptable and attractive profit margins.

On Trend

Another factor that startup entrepreneurs and business owners must contend with when fundraising is changing trends in capital markets and the startup investment ecosystem.

Business model trends come and go. Especially as investors see and experience certain business models be successful or fail.

They’ve gone through liking hardware, then software, then SaaS. Some investors like platforms, while some prefer certain industries as they come into fashion. Just as we’ve seen with cannabis, climate change, and ESG.

If you are not raising on-trend, it can be near impossible to get the money you are looking for. Regardless of how great and needed your product is, or how solid your business model is.

Where Does The Business Model Slide Go In A Pitch Deck?

Proper flow and the placement of the business model slide in the pitch deck are just as critical to successfully getting funded as is the content on this slide.

Your business model slide should come just after your traction, and the customers and engagement slides. Then right before your financials, forecasts, and the amount being raised slides.

Do not underestimate the importance of putting this slide in the right place. A poorly or incorrectly organized deck can destroy your chances of getting funded. Investors will get hung up on it. Instead of paying attention to the content and how great of a business this is to invest in.

What Goes On The Business Model Slide In A Pitch Deck?

Above all else, this slide must be clean and swift to understand.

Keep your business model simple.

Do not distract investors, and raise more questions or objections than you need to by complicating this slide. You must show your ability to focus.

You may use a simple visual to explain the basics of your business model. Alternatively, you may use a few numbered bullet points to walk them through how it works, and the high-level steps involved.

Other Pitch Deck Slides Relevant To Your Business Model

Obviously, there is a lot more depth and factors to your business model than what you will be able to effectively fit on this one slide in your deck.

Your other slides are essentially breaking out, and breaking down the different elements involved in your business plan and model of operating.

These are some of the key slides where you provide more relevant detail on this topic.

Market

Your market slide shows how big this space is. As well as the segment of this market your business will serve. Plus, the initial sub-markets or section of this that you will begin targeting as your customers, as you prove out your model, and gain a foothold in the industry.

Product

This slide succinctly shows the product that your business is selling.

Through your pitch deck, investors will want to learn what it is you are selling, and how you are making, sourcing, and pricing this product. As well as the one big benefit that it offers, and how it solves the big problem your company is in business to solve.

Competition

What other companies are out to solve this problem? How do they validate this problem and your business model? How do they justify the amount you aim to raise, your valuation, and financial forecasts?

You may also use catchphrases in your deck, verbal pitch, and website to position your business model. For example, are you the Uber, Facebook, or Airbnb of your industry?

Competitive Advantage

Elements of your business model can be your competitive advantage. If they are, be sure to highlight this here.

Can you source superior materials, or at a better price and more reliably than anyone else? Do you have enviable distribution channels and partnerships locked down? Have you mastered marketing?

Traction

This is where you show what you have proven so far. How well has your business model been working, or not?

Which translates to how much of a gamble giving you money still is. Versus how confident investors can be in growth and their returns. As well as how high they can confidently expect those returns to be, based on real data.

Customers

This digs further into your customer avatar. Who exactly are your customers that this business model is designed for?

How are they being reached? What feedback have you been getting from those customers you have already secured?

Financial Forecasts

If you have existing financials from doing business already, then you will include those on their own slide. This is followed by your financial forecasts of what you are modeling to happen over the next 12 months and three years.

This gives more insight into your business model. Including where you expect revenues and profits to come from. As well as your expenses, anticipated profit margins, and rate of growth.

Team & Advisors

Here investors will be able to see how accomplished your team is at scaling businesses with this specific business model.

Use Of Funds

This slide tells investors which parts of your business model you will be investing their funds into. You will also lay out the milestones you will deliver with this round of funding.

It may be production facilities, marketing and sales, building out your team with a specific area of expertise, or scaling what you are doing to increase revenues and profitability due to the economies of size.

Even as you’re reading up on how to place the business model slide into the pitch deck, you may want more information on what is a business model. Check out this video I have created explaining what exactly that is and what its components are.

The Business Model & Your Business Plan

Clearly, there is not much room to lay out a comprehensive business model on a single pitch deck slide.

For your own use and your team, you will want to create a more in-depth and effective business plan, which further expands on the various elements of your business model. Including what you need to bring it all together, and grow your business. Such as the infrastructure, people, and amount of money required, and when.

Your full business plan can then be uploaded to your virtual data room. There it can be viewed by serious investors who need the details and are ready to take the next step in funding your company.

Essential Elements Of A Business Model

There are really four main parts to a business and business model. The cycle on which your company turns.

• Target Market: Who you are selling to
• Product/Supply: What you are providing and how
• How You Will Market, Deliver & Sell: How you are selling it, and getting it to customers
• How You Will Get Paid & What You Will Do With The Profits: How much you are going to (reinvest, versus get paid and make in payouts to others

This information should help you work out where does the business model slide go in a pitch deck.

You may find interesting as well our free library of business templates. There you will find every single template you will need when building and scaling your business completely for free. See it here.